Hop Skip
by Kasan Soulblade
Summary: Colette and Yuan meet and persue the strangest activity the Serpah has ever heard of in his 4 thousand some years. A game of Hop Skip.
1. Yuan and Colette

Just a sieres of short stories/scenes focusing on the game hop-skip. This is the first segment/chapter. I don't know why I cut this story up like this but... it's short, almost flash fiction, yet it isn't

Hop Skip

Intro: Yuan and Colette

Surreal, so much so it resembled a dream that was the truth of the reality before him. His –for once- clean and clear desk was covered in a travel worn and frayed cloth, small stones were piled before him, and a die was set in front of him by his "guest". Reaching out. Yuan picked up the clay die, and tossed it. It's rattle and path were stunted by the impomptu board.

"Five." He noted.

"That beats my three, I guess you go first." The blonde girl conceeded with a sunny smile.

Was there ever a time she didn't smile? Rare were the instances in his memory. Picking up one of the smooth stones symbolizing a hare, he considered his stratagy. He was allowed five hares, Colette would take three. A hare could go either forward or back, but only in a straight forward manners. Where the rabbits were only allowed to move at a diagonal, and they could only go forward. Of course there was the matter of promotions, if a hare survived it's soujourn across the board it became a Lord Hare and could then move from left to right as well as forward and back, if a rabbit made the trip than it was considered a Lord Rabbit and could go back and forth in a diagonal fashion.

Of course considering that the hares and rabbits of his side were going to meet head on with the Chosen of Sylvarant's, he had very little faith that they'd survive. Kratos had told him time and time again of the girl's skill with this "elementry" game. Wondering how -and even _if_- he was going to win. The half elven stratagist who had challenged the Lord Tyrant Yggdrasil set his smooth and rough stones across the square patterened cloth, and watched with glittering saphire eyes as the Chosen did much the same.


	2. OF Feathers and Hops

Hop Skip

Chapter 1

Of Feathers and Hops

Each was both a slow and careful player. One made so by the fact he was assimilating the rules and adapting to an alien board, the other made so by many days of practice. One was eternal and the other almost, timelessness was a state that they both embraced, or perhaps embraced them. So the thin golden beam of sunlight that fell from the sole open window traced a lazy path across the edge of the mahogany, yet neither cared nor noted the light's path.

The opening moves were timid, the hares and rabbits crept from the sanctuary of their "dens" out into the open field and slowly became to assimilate into formations.

After confirming a rule, Yuan had opened a drawer from his desk and fished out a number of feathers stored within. Seeing the soft pink feathers, so much like her own that Colette giggled.

"You collect your feathers?"

"I was suffering from a molt last month." Yuan reported coolly. "And for the sake of my dignity I find it better to gather the feathers and dispose of them myself. There are-" Yuan paused, wondered if the unworldly seeming girl would understand, then decided to temporize. "-several women within my organization who might decide to _collect_ them."

Colette considered the cryptic statement for a bit, then bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Kratos says he gets chased by girls sometimes, that's why he won't wear swimming trunks in Altamara."

Lip quirking into a ghost of true smile, Yuan let a small chuckle slide past his lips.

"He's still having that problem?"

Colette nodded and Yuan leaned back into his padded high chair. His lips still twisted into a smirk. After a span of silence had passed, he reached out with a gloved hand and fingered one of his pieces. The Seraph hopped his rabbit over one of his own, then over two of Colette's hares. The only sound was the click of the piece tapping another piece, either indicating it's "dazed" state of its "out" state. Picking up a feather from the small pile he pulled form his desk. The Seraph set one of the rose pink feathers upon his dazed piece and watched as a very quiet Colette withdrew two of her pieces off of the board.


	3. Dust and Seraphimness

Hop Skip 

Chapter 3 

Dust and Seraphim-ness

"You used to make all sorts of plans and stuff when you were leader of the Renegades?" Colette asked, wincing only a little when Yuan's latest move pulled three more of her pieces off of the board. Slowly but surely Yuan's hares and rabbits were leaping through her ranks and defeating her rodent army. A mess of feathers had fallen upon Yuan's pieces, as the Seraph ruthlessly bound over his own army to get to her own.

"Yes."

The Seraph rose a slender blue 'brow, his icy eyes met her own. He was impassive, much like the angels of Welgaia he seemed to have been cast of ice. His eyes were still, never dancing with the warmth and laughter like Lloyd's would, or with the zeal of discovery like Raine's and Genis'. Regal and Presea -whom rarely smiled- even their eyes weren't still. They flickered with interest, curiosity, even if Regal's customary somberness and the scars from Presea's past kept their inner flame from shining in full.

There seemed to be no light in Yuan's eyes, only a field of blank ice. From time to time his face would twist into an expression. But the motion seemed unnatural, strained, and would slide off his face so fast that she could barely register it.

It was strange. Yuan's Seraphim-ness was somehow jarring compared to the Seraphim-ness of the Angels in Welgaia or even the Seraphim-ness of Kratos.

The Angels of Welgaia, the Angels of Martelian Heaven, were still. Like dolls, their eyes were wide and glassy, uncomprehending. They fluttered through the glass dome of the holy city, images of (if you had asked Zelos anyways) physical perfection. Soulless and mindless they could only spend their eternity gasping out in mechanical voices the policies ordered by Yggdrasil.

Kratos was so un-Seraphim like that Colette hadn't believed it when she first suspected it. Kratos wasn't like the cold distant Regal, he could –though he rarely would- smile and laugh. His voice wasn't made of ice, and he was smart, maybe even more so than the Professor. He wasn't soulless, maybe his soul was a little strange and dark, but he had one. It was his wings that had proven it. When she saw them after Luin what doubts she had wrestled with went away. Nothing mortal could have wings of light, at least if you believed in the writ of Martel.

She shivered at the memory, of the bloody twisted extremities that had come out of the mercenary's back, shivered at the pain she remembered etched on Kratos' face.

"Something bothering you, Chosen?"

Forcing a smile, Colette shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

Ice eyes met her own, and she remembered Yggdrasil. She remembered how the ice sheathed gray eyes that had shattered to reveal a storm of anger and hate for everything. Sometimes she got the same feeling when she touched the Devil's Arms, that same horrible all consuming hate that radiated from the broken hero of the Kharlan War resided in the weapons made by demons.

"Really." She insisted, squirming just a little under the Seraph's unblinking stare. "I'm fine."

"I doubt that." Yuan murmured, then he inclined his head to indicate the board. "Your turn."

As Colette picked up her piece, Yuan turned his gaze away, so not to note how the hand had trembled. It had trembled before, and to see the motion repeated would make him inquire again at the cause. She wouldn't speak, wouldn't tell him, her first answer had informed him that.

"What are you doing here, by yourself, anyways?"

"Gathering dust." Yuan replied, then seeing the Chosen's look of bafflement he mentally rebuked himself. His underlings, his mess of soldiers and captains, commanders and sub commanders, had all but made their own language from within a language. While the terms didn't sound wildly different from those used in either of the worlds, they had different meanings.

"Gatheing dust" for example was Renegade slang for waiting for reports to come in so that the person waiting could make a decision.

"Well…" Colette looked around the room, considered what she could say to that, then at last in a meek tone admitted. "You're doing a very good job of that."

"_Thank _you, so very _very_ much."

Yuan's sarcasm went right over the girl's head. She smiled, nodded, and encouraged by his apparent _enthusiasm_ proceeded to tell him some strategies on how to make even more dust gather. Lifting an eyebrow, he radiated quiet exasperation. Still Colette didn't grasp the Seraph's subtlety. Giving up, Yuan set one elbow on his desk and set his chin on his hand while the girl's words rolled over him. He studied a point above the Chosen's head as the hints and help speech on how to gather dust went on and on.


	4. A challenge

Hop Skip

Chapter 4

A Challenge

Nine by nine, nine by two, it was a simple equation that his mind mulled over to calculate the number of spaced upon the board and the pieces he owned on it. He was over looking something, something obvious yet so abstract that his mind could not grasp it. So his surface thoughts drummed like rain against the earth, made a repetitive pounding of elementary knowledge against the clay of his mind.

This was easy, far too easy.

Gilding one of his hares, he dazed ten of his own pieces and stomped over ten of the Chosen's. The girl now only had a hare and seven rabbits. The rabbits were scattered seemingly at random, the sole hare had been the only piece in play. It's restless, repetitive; back and forth evasion had been driving the Seraph wild. A shame his move hadn't killed it… Unflinching, Colette pulled her pieces off of the board, and nodded to indicate that Yuan was to put his feather's down to indicate what pieces were "dazed".

"Kratos grossly over estimated your skill if this is the best you can do." Yuan actually indulged in a grumble. He was disappointed in how the game was turning out. Nothing short of a miracle could save Colette now, he had pieces scattered all about the board, and while some were dazed…

As he set the feathers down his disappointment faded into shock.

Some of his pieces weren't dazed, _all_ of them were. Save one, and that one had "hopped" so far out of the bounds of his territory to get to Colette's own that it was all but defenseless. Eyes wide, he set the feathers down, and Colette grinned at him, her wide live eyes glittered with mirth.

"Kratos grossly over estimated _your_ skill if this is the best you can do." Colette said, her tone becoming both deep and… pompous as she tried –and failed- to imitate his voice.

"I don't sound like _that_." Yuan snapped, lightning flashed in the sky of his eyes, his voice became a touch harsh.

"Yes you do." Colette teased. "And you know it."

Then, to put salt on the proverbial wound, she picked up that annoying, aggravating hare, hopped over her own pieces, then proceeded to decimate his downed troops. As she merrily swept every single piece –save the one isolated rabbit- off of the board she thoughtfully picked up his feathers and handed them back to him.

"You might want to play with a Renegade, or Kratos, or something." Colette told him with a smile. "So you might need them again."

Yuan snorted, but took the feathers and set them on the side of the table.

"We aren't done yet." The Seraph growled, then seeing the Chosen was going to get up muttered an indignant. "Sit."

"But you only have one piece, normally people want to quit when that happens."

"I'm not quite _normal_." The Seraph reminded her with a bitter smile. "And I'll tell you something I haven't told anyone else. I've come back from worse set backs and losses than this and _won_."

"Is that a challenge?" Colette teased, her smile still sunny and wide despite his faintly veiled frustration and surprise at the turn of game.

"Yes," Yuan replied, "it is."

"Then I'll take you up on it." The Chosen said, taking her seat once again. "I've never seen someone win after loosing all but one of their pieces before."


	5. Lifting Feathers

Hop skip

Chapter 6

Lifting Feathers

"So, something bad happened to you, and you lost a lot?"

Yuan nodded, he was scowling at the board, and was giving himself a headache from keeping his face locked into a single expression for a long span of time. Despite the slight throbbing between his temples he was thinking of strategies and counter strategies. Plots upon plots, he could spend as much time musing on them as he needed, considering that Colette was –at least in part- a Seraphim she had very few 'mortal' needs. So they could spend a few moments waiting while he plotted and set the first steps of his plans into motion.

"It's something of a life time trend." Yuan admitted, seeing that by talking he might distract the girl and gain some semblance of his dignity back. He moved his rabbit away from the dazed hoard of the Chosen's remaining pieces.

Yes, defiantly time to make for a mad dash to the other side of the board and get his rabbit promoted to Lord. That alone would save him.

"A life time trend?" Colette asked, cocking her head to the side, her golden locks falling shifted behind her, but unlike everyone else in the two worlds without wings, the girl's hair didn't fall into her face. Perhaps in matters of barber choice she was wiser than all the Seraph combined. Even if she was… somewhat simple….

"It's been going on for a long time." Yuan snapped. Breaking down the relatively simple phrase into terms a child should be able to grasp. With a long fingered hand he moved his piece one again. Colette, in turn, lifted a feather off of one of her dazed pieces. She could do nothing else for her turn, and made a strange noise while doing so.

The girl huffed, the exasperated sound –something besides cheer- made Yuan look up. Was that a touch of ice to her gaze, a hint of anger in her expression? The Seraph set down his last piece, then meeting Colette's eyes quirked his lips.

"You have a very interesting skill, Chosen."

Anger left her, was replaced by mortal shock at his sudden turn of subject.

"Even when I know I should respect you, I find it difficult to do so. You disarm, even when unarmed. It's an interesting trick. How do you do it?"

She looked at him, her expression clearly conveying her confusion. Then she grasped what he wanted. He watched understanding flood her face, banish the confusion. It was a subtle change, the relaxing of some face muscles, the tightening of others, the slight curl to her lips. It was all very subtle. But subtlety was the trademark of what he was. It might also be his staple, to replace his once mortal palate's empty fare.

"I'm honest."

"That's it?" Yuan snorted. "I _highly_ doubt that."

"Then you've been lying too much."

Yuan raised a 'brow, met the child's eyes, his whole aura reeking of insulted pride. She stood through that storm, unfazed, and he mulled over her words. At last, he moved his piece, she lifted a feather. He never nodded, never indicated in anyway or forum that he agreed… but perhaps she saw through his façade of silent brooding.

If she did, she said nothing of it however. Finally after all the pieces were freed and his rabbit was promoted Colette spoke again.

"I'm not really ever unarmed you know."

Yuan winced, remembering suddenly that red gaudy hammer. He remembered how thinking the girl was unarmed he'd lunged for her. In his mind there was only one thought. To trade the somehow awakened child with Pronima(sp) for Lloyd. Colette had clenched her fists, there had been a flash of light, and he had been on the ground, dazed, wondering why the hell the world was spinning.

His guards had shot forward, swords out, and two of them had been downed with inglorious 'squeaks' and frantic "sorry"s ringing in their ears.

Kratos, seeing the mayhem, had actually laughed, but had wisely drawn his sword and given Colette all the room she wanted to swing those deadly little mice hammer hybrids.

"I'd almost forgotten." Yuan admitted, rubbing his head, remembering the headache he'd gotten after that "fight".


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Basically this chapter answers the question "What's Yuan doing in his base all alone?". In the Japanese /playstation version you find Yuan lingering in his base and can talk to him. While this story doesn't follow what he says and does in the Japanese version to the letter I will say that it inspired this story somewhat._

Hop Skip

Chapter 5

Beyond Nostalgia

It was only a matter of time, he supposed. He'd fought long and heard, but in the end he had lost. Trying to ignore the chilling parallel between the games ending and the recent events of his life Yuan also spent a segment of his willpower ignoring the girl's victory cry.

"Squeak-ity!"

Despite his best efforts, he twitched as Colette giggled and hopped over one of her last rabbits and defeated his Lord Rabbit.

Sensing his ill humor, Colette said he'd played a really good first game. She all but reeked sincerity and cheer, and he wrinkled his nose slightly in disgust. Her words of how well he'd kept going even though he'd all but lost, after she'd taken all but _one_ of his pieces…

The girl obviously wasn't aware she was delivering a rain of potentially backhand compliments. Not wanting to endure a torrent of apologies, Yuan kept his silence and considered. He'd already spent weeks in solitude and silence. Isolation and quiet had been his only companions while he waited, holding out for the last Renegades to make it to sanctuary and report. He'd promised his people a month, no more no less, a month to either make it to a sanctuary or to go into civilian guise and stay out of the open war between Mortal and Angel that was in the offing.

While the month was almost over, ninety percent of his people had either gone to the hundreds of sanctuaries squirreled away in the two worlds, or had reported they were resigning and had promptly disappeared. He had exactly three days to accept that those who hadn't reported their decision were dead, only three days before the Renegades would begin to set in motion their final plan, to invade Derris Kharlan.

He'd filled his earlier past hours with going over his mistakes, ruing them, and hoping for the future. He'd calculated all the odds, compensated for his peoples strengths, weaknesses, and had even gone so far as to contact his subcommanders and give orders to prep his people for the assault against Yggdrasil's "heaven".

All he was doing now was counting minutes, counting time before he stood and walked from this room and went back to work in leading things again. He'd lead his people one last time, as a general, and then step down once all the fighting had ended. That was his final goal, his hope. Through the Renegades would live, though they be needed, they would not need to continue in his shadow.

He was unaware of how his head had drooped due to the weight of his thoughts. He reached up to push aside the hair that had fallen across his face, but another's hand beat him to it. Gently Colette pushed the hair from his eyes, her sky blue eyes meeting his own.

"Are you alright?"

Chuckling, the Seraph plucked the loose locks from the girl's grip and pulled the unruly bit of hair behind his pointed ear.

"The future is both a horrible and heavy thing to consider, it is not?"

"It doesn't have to be." Colette said. "_I_ don't think it is."

"Well, your future is different from mine." Yuan replied. Leaning back into his chair he considered the feathers and board on his desk. It was so strange to see anything but mountains of paperwork on that desk. Yes, Yuan mused, it was strange and welcome, a welcome little change. "Your future is like and unlike your past. One you incase in nostalgia and fondness, the other you encase in hope and exuberance, both however possess a rose pink tint."

Colette frowned, but nodded. "I guess we try to think about the best of things happening in the past and hope for it in the future." Colette shrugged. "How's that bad?"

"It's not bad." Yuan answered. "It's merely… incomprehensible. To a person in my position, possessed of my "so called" divine status, the rose tint of hope and nostalgia no longer exist. They can't not when the glasses have been removed and I see everything exactly as it was and exactly how it should be."

"So?" Colette cocked her head to the side. "You can see the future?"

"I can calculate it." Yuan clarified. "Having almost pure hindsight, living in reality without being permited personal illusion... It's jarring, disturbing, but it gives one greater vision of what is to come."

"But you don't really know, if things are going to turn bad after this is all over, do you?"

"No, I don't." The half elf shrugged. "No one knows for sure."

"Then how do you know that your future is gonig to be bad, or worse than mine?" Colette pressed. "Really, that seems rather dumb. Giving up on hope that good things can happen before anythings happened at all."

Yuan snaped his teeth together, barely quelling in time the words that a mere child could not grasp the complexities of the world. There would be chaos born after the two worlds were recombined, the tree reborn, there would be people in need of explaination, hostilies between the somewhat xenophobic peoples of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant would be needed to be quelled. The tree would need a guardian or protecting force, the remains of Derris Kharlan would have to be dealt with...

He knew men's greed, hatred, had seen both in the war and after. The path after the world's true Regeneration would be rough, to say the least.

"I've been around longer than you, however." Yuan snapped. "I've seen things you can only barely imagine, the future of the two worlds will not be a birght one, even if we gain some victory over Mithos..." Yuan left it hanging, and waited for the hope that must seep out from the child's eyes. His words would be a minor wound, the wounding would be a catharcis of sorts. By letting some of the infected matter from the festering wound that this girl's boundless hope and idealism could become, as it _had _become to Mithos in ages past...

"If you want to look at the bad side of everything, that's fine." Colette sniffed, _steel_ actually forming in those sky hued eyes. "I don't think everythings going to get horrible though. The war's been over for forever, people have forgotten a lot of their anger, and even a lot of the anti-half elf sentiment is going away. If you want to be a sour puss and stay in here gathering dust, that's fine."

At the word "puss", Yuan shivered, recalling once in the very distant past how his Second Rene had slipped a cat into his private quarters when he'd had his wings out...

Perhaps nostalgia wasn't completely beyond him, he admited to himself.

As Colette stood and made to leave, Yuan considered, then made his decision.

"Chos- Colette..."

The girl paused.

"It's really bad forum, you know."

She turned, her expression clearly conveying her confusion.

"To leave after a first game." Yuan continued. "It might even be somewhat unfair. Taking advantage of an enemy's unfamiliarity with a game, stomping them, then walking out. It almost comes across as... arrogent."

She was still confused, unused to the Renegade Leaders' eccentric -almost electric- manner. His flashes of anger, compassion, inspiration, his torrents of calculation, caution, and evasion... The child wasn't used to it, wasn't used to anything but straight forwardness, frankness, sparingly sprinkled with the occasion evasion and falsehood to spare feelings or hide pain.

Understanding, for he'd once been like that, as had Kratos, and even Mithos, the Seraph smiled.

"What do you say. Best two of three? Our last game considered a tutoring round?"

Colette hesitated, and Yuan cocked his head to the side, his once tucked locks falling free and obscuring his vision somewhat.

"Your friends, they are expecting you back by some time? If so then you can leave. I won't keep you here unless you want to or can stay."

"You're just gathering dust?" Colette asked meekly. "I'm really not interupting something Renegadeish that's really important."

"I'll be here, for some time." Yuan admitted with a thin smile. "Although, the dust comment was more of a joke than anything else."

"Oh..." Colette smiled. "Well the others are out, hunting some type of worm, so I thought... well I'd say hi. ANd it really isn't that late, is it?"

"Not to me." Yuan chuckled. "But then late has a whole new meaning to a Seraphim."

"Alright." Colette nodded. "I'll play you a few more times. And win!" She said, striking a little pose.

Yuan laughed. "I don't doubt it in the least."


	7. trading for the rules

_A/N: My Cube died... it's dead. I swear I should hold a funeral for it, it's so dead. However, after checking the games on a friend's system I know thier OK. So while I still have TOS I can't play it. It bites, I know, but that's the main reason I'm updating nothing but this. I don't have anyway to check sources, study maps, ect. Bright side? I bought TOA, and I'll be getting a PS2 during the post turkeyday sales at a discounted price, so expect some TOA fanfic from me soon. _

_Kasan Soulblade _

Hop Skip

Chapter 7

"Trading for the rules"

Would you rather play rabbit's dash?" Colette asked as they both contemplated the treacherous die.

They'd both rolled a one when deciding turns and hares. Frustrated, they rolled again, and again, and for all they tossed –or in Yuan's case cursed- the game piece, they'd only gotten were ones.

"Rabbit's dash?" Yuan raised an eyebrow. "How is it that you've lived a mere fraction of my lifespan yet you are more knowledgeable of games than I?"

"Well…" Colette mumbled something really fast that the Seraph didn't quite catch. At the prompting of his curious stare, the Chosen rubbed her hands together, and in a voice that was marred with stammers said. "I just… you're so serious, I can't see you playing anything with anyone."

"That's rather unfair." Yuan countered. "You hardly know me." He reached across the desk, picked up the die and turned it over in his gloved hands. "After Kratos stopped playing _trava_ with me… and Kain and Sky died, I ran out of people who had any inclination to play a game with me. Then of course, there have been the recent stresses of the changes you're party has brought upon both worlds. I've been busy, it's rare that I haven't been busy."

"Who were they, Sky and…" Colette bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. I-"

"You are curious." Yuan shrugged. "It's been a long time since anyone was curious, about me or those around me." The Seraph tossed the die lazily on the table.

It landed with one pif up, and Yuan snorted.

"It's not loaded. Not like Zelos' dice are." Colette said, jumping to the defense of the game piece before Yuan fried it with a lightning spell.

"How long did it take your boyfriend, Mr. Irving to grasp the idea that Zelos always cheats?" Yuan asked. While on the surface he seemed to be changing topics, his gaze promising a lighting bolt to the retreating die at a later date.

Colette stashed the game piece in her vest pocket, and wondered why Yuan was staring at her funny. Shrugging it off, she paused to remember, and then answered the blue haired half elf's question.

"He lost every piece of gald before he asked Zelos if he was cheating."

Yuan's eyebrow hopped, and his lip quirked in one corner, when it threatened to spread into a full smile the Seraph took a deep breath. Using the simple breathing exercise, the Seraphim quelled his laughter, and his expression smoothed back into its customary icy façade that offered nothing to anyone.

"Sky was Botta's right hand man, after Aroon." The Seraph said. "He died with Botta on their final mission. Kain was an old Renegade who died fighting the angels when they stormed my base."

Shifting in her chair, uncomfortable, Colette gathered her nerve and asked. "How old was Kain?"

"Seventy eight."

"If he was a half elf, isn't that youn-"

"He was a human." Yuan clarified. "An old man, barely able to walk. When I sent a team to rescue, he told them to pull back and then set off an unstable rune containing red quartz. He deliberately tied the rune to the bases fire mana generator, the explosion damaged one of the bases foundation walls. Hence, why all the rooms save the route to my office are sealed off."

Mouthing a silent "oh" Colette fell silent. The quiet was uncomfortable, charged with Yuan's grief and pain. His bitterness was almost a smell, thick, cloying...

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I asked."

Yuan shrugged. "Perhaps it was needed. I often think upon those who've died before me, it's a long list, but the memories help me stay true to my path, and my goals." Yuan watched, impassive, as the girl wrung her hands in an open show of distress. Strange, he mused, to have anyone openly show him anything. He was far too used to having to pry response or information out of those around him. "Do you play _trava_?"

"_Trava_?" The girl cocked her head to the side, and he wondered if she'd picked up that gesture from one of the half elves from the Regeneration group. He'd watched Raine cock her head to the side, contemplate him with violet eyes. The half elven woman had also done that to his various machines, the Reihards, at the ruins of Efreet's main temple... it was generally a precursor to some sort of strange "mode" or "mania", at least that's what Kratos' report to Cruxis had indicated. Luckily, for him, the girl only did so when she was confused. "No. Well I've _heard_ of it, but I don't play."

"Ah." Yuan let a chuckle slip past his lips. "You aren't perfect after all. That's a shame."

"I never was." Colette countered, beginning to pick up the hare pieces off the board.

Yuan considered the cryptic response from what he was used to thinking as a simple straightforward girl, and frowned. Not willing to say anything until he was sure of himself, he followed suit. Taking the square hare pieces off of his board and setting them to the side. While Colette rummaged through a pocket to find an empty pouch the Seraph leaned forward, twining his fingers so the digits interlaced each other. He set his chin upon his hands and watched Colette set the hares into the small frayed pouch she'd discovered in some long forgotten pocket.

There was always some forgotten pocket, some forsaken nook or cranny. Much like there was the _drawer_, the drawer stuffed with odds and ends that he'd never remembered putting in it...

"I apologize, for my statement, Chosen." Yuan said, as the last hare was retired. "It was thoughtless to speak of Cruxis' writ, considering all the hell following it has earned you."

"It's alright." Colette smiled, thought the gesture was rimmed with sadness. "Perfection's a Cruxis only thing."

"They wish." Yuan quirked his lips into a half smile. "I'll tell you, in four thousand years Cruxis has only done one thing perfect."

"What's that?"

_Distorting... No desecrating Martel's final wish, final hope, final prayer..._

The words hung between them, unspoken, yet there. Locked behind Yuan's teeth, that somber statement echoed in his eyes and made the ice shatter for a second to reveal the gray of his despair. The pain of Cruxis' perfection left searing scars in the Seraph's soul, as did the profaning of the love he'd had of a woman four millennia dead.

_I loved her so much, I would have killed her. While not direct, my actions lead to her death. They have been leading to her death, for over two thousand years all my energies have been bent to sending her to her final slumber..._

"That," Yuan said, injecting his voice with cheer he didn't feel. "-would be telling."

"Would not! You just don't want to say it!" Colette accused, her innocent eyes glimmering with amusement.

Yuan held onto his silence, and the quiet of the room changed, while Colette proceeded to try to -at first- cajole his thoughts from him. At last, she started bargaining, and he had to admit, for a child she could cut a cruel deal.

"You wouldn't!" Yuan snarled, so startled at her last "offer" that he lifted his head and glared at the girl.

"I would. If you don't tell me I won't teach you how to play." Colette lazily twined a lock between two fingers. "I guess we can go back to hop skip." She continued. Her words were coming out slow now, as if with great reluctance. "I could beat you, again and again, and again, and..."

"I get the idea." Yuan growled.

"I thought you might." Colette grinned, and he swore that the girl's follow up giggle was evil.

"Fine." Yuan snapped, his mind racing around in circles, then he grinned, as the answer came to him. "We've compiled a list, the most accurate list in all of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant..."

"_Of_?" Colette asked, as his silence dragged on. She actually squeaked the word she was so enthusiastic.

"Now now..." Yuan shook his head. "You haven't offered me a trade, however, I've a good one. First I'll tell you the subject of the list, you then will tell me the object of the game. I'll trade an item on the list for a rule, and when either one of us runs out of rules of items we'll begin to play. Is it a deal?"


	8. round about

Hop Skip

Chapter 8

Round about

"Deal!" Colette chirped, and her almost avian show of happiness made Yuan reflect on the protozoan. He had developed an almost sociopathic hate for all birds after Noishe had joined them during the Kharlan war.

Perhaps after suffering from multiple curry thefts did lead to psychological damage after all.

Lip curling in one corner, the half elf considered the enthusiastic, happy, Chosen before him.

"So, who goes first?" Yuan asked, leaning back, and then caving into the "what the hell" form of thinking he kicked his feet up and set them on the desk. To the undignified gesture Colette actually snapped out of her giggles and looked confused. But the confusion was off of her face in a flash, as she considered his words.

"Well, you should go first I think."

"Why?" Yuan countered, deciding to drag this out as much as he could. After all, it was rare he got to actually talk to someone, to talk of something non-life death, crisis scenario, the world's ending, type of talk.

"Why not?"

"Aggravating little human, aren't you?" Yuan quipped. She glared at that, and he smirked at her. "_Please_, you've been called worse during your journey. Hell, I've called you and Lloyd far worse and meant it at the time too."

"At the time?" Colette asked.

"My anger is much like Lloyd's, in forum, but not in expression. I hold my temper in check, but when I do give it a free leash I mean exactly what I say… at the moment. When it passes my humor generally changes and I retract my statements and apologize."

Colette raised an eyebrow. "So when you called Lloyd a back stabbing little thief…"

"He stole my Reihards, he stabbed me in the back during our fight in the Reihard chamber, and he is shorter than me. It all still qualifies- unless he's had a growth spurt recently. I'll apologize when I get my ship back."

"Kratos said the red one was his." Colette countered.

"No, my dear, they're all mine. I can fish out the contract if you'd like. We swap the duties of ownership, maintenance, and the like, ever few centuries. And more to the point this century they are _mine_."

"You're as bad as Kratos."

"I'd agree, but you'd best define "bad". There are many type of crime, sin, and the like."

Colette stared at him, and then let her gaze drift down to the steel plate boots on the desk. Yuan lowered the hand he'd waved to emphasize his drawl, and then tapped his toes together. The boots rang out with an off tune "ding", and Colette lifted her gaze to look him in the eye.

"You're as greedy as Kratos." She corrected, and Yuan snorted, waved a hand.

"I was a thief, before this all began. All thieves are made greedy."

"Really?"

"Hazard of the profession." Yuan explained with a shrug. "And after all, I've not only my needs to tend to –few as they are-, but the needs of those around me. Raising this base, maintaining it, and its now not-so-secret mate in Tethe'alla, was not a simple, cost free, endeavor."

"Oh..." Colette considered the boots one more time, and Yuan rose a 'brow at the girl's staring.

"Problem, Chosen?"

"Even if I explain the rules, how are you going to play, sitting like that?"

"…I'll move." Yuan, said. He barely managed to not snap in exasperation at such a simple question.

Perhaps the sudden neutrality in his voice was damning, because Colette blushed and looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Yuan flinched despite himself. He leaned back into his chair, cringing away from the source of pain he'd unintentionally caused in the child. "For asking? Had most thought to have done so and not merely followed, things wouldn't have come to this."

"Maybe… I think if too many people asked Yggdrasil wouldn't have allowed people to stay alive this long for us to change things."

Yuan grimaced, nodded. To that show of purely mortal distaste, Colette giggled.

"You look so strange when you do that."

"Lack of practice." Yuan admitted with a shrug, his features settling into their customary mask of placidity.

"Do you know you cross your eyes when you grimace?"

"I do not!" Yuan snarled, his expression twisting to show the anger that flashed across his eyes.

"Yep. You wrinkle your nose and cross your eyes."

"Shut up!" Yuan snapped. Feeling irked, he sunk into the chair, his blue eyebrows lowering like hoods over his burning eyes. Slowly the anger drained out of him, and he lifted his gaze and looked to the Chosen in a meek, unseraph-ish manner. "I do not… do I?"

"No, not really, it's just funny when you get mad."

"Stop yanking my chain, girl. This old war hawk doesn't have all his talons pulled."

Colette cocked her head to the side, her sky blue eyes clouded with confusion.

"Nevermind." Yuan sighed. "It's a saying from before your time and it would take far too long to explain."

Colette opened her mouth to protest, and then snapped it shut. Whatever had made her decide to hold her peace, to forbear from insisting, was a mystery. An appreciated mystery, but a mystery all the same.

Finally, the girl composed her expression into a mock ferocity, a false somberness, and then she extended her hand.

"Your list."

Yuan smirked, let his eyes slide to mere slits, and let a arrogant chuckle to slide past his lips. "Why? Why should I give first, it seems to my benefit that you explain the rules of "Dash" to me first."

"No, it's agreed, your list first."

"When did we reach this agreement?"

"Now." When he moved to counter that lame argument, Colette narrowed her eyes, and a hammer appeared in her hands. As her fingers tightened their grip, the weapon made a comical "squeakity" noise

"A very impressive argument." Yuan conceded, as Colette turned the hammer so its gaudy red head was facing him. "Alas I didn't write it down."

"You can talk, you seem to like doing that."

"Be unable to do so for ten years, you'll love to talk afterwards. Fifty's overkill however, there are times I think Kratos hasn't regained his ability to talk."

"He talks to Lloyd." Colette said as banished the hammer with a lazy tossing gesture.

Thinking it was an attack, then realizing it wasn't, Yuan barely managed to quell the instinct to throw himself out of the chair and out of harms way. Still the fact that the harm was in truth non-existent was enough to keep him in his chair.

And it allowed him to keep his shattered dignity intact.

"Alright… the subject is this…." Reaching up with a hand he twined the eye obscuring lock of azure between two fingers. "The world's worst barbers in Tethe'alla and Sylvarant."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously, you think we do this to ourselves?" Yuan grumbled, letting the lock fall from his fingers with a mock sigh. "Well I've fulfilled my end of the bargain. Now, how do you play this "Rabbit's Dash"?"

For her credit, Colette managed to keep a straight face… for all of ten seconds, and Yuan cracked a small genuine smile as the girl laughed.


End file.
